The Lived Experience of Paradox: How Individuals Navigate Tensions during the Pandemic Crisis

Aguinis H. Vilamor I. Gabriel K. P . (2020). Understanding employee responses to COVID-19: A behavioral corporate social responsibility perspective. Management Research, 18(4). https://doi.org/10.1108/MRJIAM-06-2020-1053.

Allard K. Haas L. Philip Hwang C. (2007). Exploring the paradox: Experiences of flexible working arrangements and work–family conflict among managerial fathers in Sweden. Community. Work and Family, 10(4), 475–493.

Andriopoulos C. Lewis M. W. (2009). Exploitation-exploration tensions and organizational ambidexterity: Managing paradoxes of innovation. Organization Science, 20(4), 696–717.

Argyris C. (1990). Overcoming organizational defenses: Facilitating organizational learning. Allyn & Bacon.

Ashcraft K. L. (2017). ‘Submission’ to the rule of excellence: Ordinary affect and precarious resistance in the labor of organization and management studies. Organization, 24(1), 36–58. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350508416668188

Ashforth B. E. Rogers K. M. Pratt M. G. Pradies C. (2014). Ambivalence in organizations: A multilevel approach. Organization Science, 25(5), 1453–1478.

Aust I. Brandl J. Keegan A. Lensges M. (2017). Tensions in managing human resources: Introducing a paradox framework and research agenda. In Smith W. K. Lewis M. W. Jarzabkowski P. Langley A. (Eds.). The oxford handbook of organizational paradox (pp. 413–433). Oxford University Press.

Bartunek J. (1988). The dynamics of personal and organizational reframing. In Quinn R. Cameron K. (Eds.), Paradox and transformation: Towards a theory of change in organization and management (pp. 137–162). Ballinger.

Beauregard T. A. Henry L. C. (2009). Making the link between work–life balance practices and organizational performance. Human Resource Management Review, 19(1), 9–22.

Bednarek R. Paroutis S. Sillince J. (2017). Transcendence through rhetorical practices: Responding to paradox in the science sector. Organization Studies, 38(1), 77–101.

Beech N. Burns H. de Caestecker L. MacIntosh R. MacLean D. (2004). Paradox as invitation to act in problematic change situations. Human Relations, 57(10), 1313–1332.

Ben-Ami R. Klochendler A. Seidel M. Gurel-Gurevixh O. Yassour M. Meshorer E. Benedek G. Fogerl I. Oiknine-Djian E. Gertler A. Rotstein Z. Lavi B. Dor Y. Wolf D. G. Salton M. Drier Y. (2020). Large-scale implementation of pooled RNA extraction and RT-PCR for SARS-cov2. Detection Clinical Microbiology and Infection, 26(9), 1248–1253.

Berti M. Simpson A. V. (2019). The dark side of organizational paradoxes: The dynamics of disempowerment. Academy of Management Review. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2017.0208

Cheal J. (2020). Solving impossible problems. Working through tensions & managing paradox in business, 2nd ed. GWiz Publishing.

Coscieme L. Fioramonti L. Mortensen L. F. Pickett K. E. Kubiszewski I. Lovins H. Mcglade J. Ragnarsdóttir K. V. Roberts D. Costanza R De Vogli R. Wilkinson R. (2020). Female leadership and public health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.13.20152397

Cunha M. P. E. Putnam L. L. (2019). Paradox theory and the paradox of success. Strategic Organization, 17(1), 95–106.

Danish Broadcasting Corporation. (2020). Morgensang: ‘Det er i dag et vejr’ og ‘Forårsdag’ [Morning song: ‘It’s a weather today’ and ‘Spring day’]. www.dr.dk, March 17, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2020, from https://www.dr.dk/drtv/episode/morgensang_-det-er-i-dag-et-vejr-og-foraarsdag_176560

Ehnert I. (2009). Sustainable human resource management: A conceptual and exploratory analysis from a paradox perspective. Springer.

Fairhurst G. T. (2019). Reflections: Return paradox to the wild? Paradox interventions and their implications. Journal of Change Management, 19(1), 6–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/14697017.2018.1552505

Francis H. Keegan A. (2020). The ethics of engagement in an age of austerity: A paradox perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 162(3), 593–607.

Frone M. R. Russell M. Cooper M. L. (1992). Antecedents and outcomes of work–family conflict: Testing a model of the work–family interface. Journal of Applied Psychology, 77(1), 65.

Gaim M. Clegg S. (2020). Paradox beyond East/West orthodoxy: The case of Ubuntu. In Bednarek R. Cunha M. Schad J. Smith W. (Eds.), Interdisciplinary dialogues on organizational paradox (Research in the sociology of organizations: A research annual). Emerald Publishing Limited.

Gaim M. Clegg S. Cunha M. (2019). Managing impressions rather than emissions: Volkswagen and the false mastery of paradox. Organization Studies, forthcoming. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0170840619891199

Gibson C. (2020). From ‘social distancing’ to ‘care in connecting’: An emerging organizational research agenda for turbulent times. Academy of Management Discoveries, forthcoming. https://doi.org/10.5465/amd.2020.0062

Gino F. (2020). Lessons from a working mon on “doing it all.” Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2020/06/lessons-from-a-working-mom-on-doing-it-all

Giorgi S. (2017). The mind and heart of resonance: The role of cognition and emotions in frame effectiveness. Journal of Management Studies, 54(5), 711–738.

Giustiniano L. Cunha M. P. Clegg S. (2016). Organizational zemblanity. European Management Journal, 34(1), 7–21.

Grant D. Wolfram Cox J. (2017). Using a discourse lens to explore tensions and contradictions in organizational theory and change: A conversation with Linda Putnam. Journal of Change Management, 17(3), 189–202.

Grote G. Sparr J. L. Smith W. K. Fairhurst G. T. Oliver N. A. Waldman D. A. (2019, August 1). Paradox and uncertainty. In Academy of management proceedings. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMBPP.2019.11398symposium

Grzywacz J. G. Smith A. M. (2016). Work–family conflict and health among working parents: Potential linkages for family science and social neuroscience. Family Relations, 65(1), 176–190.

Huang T. Koh B. Miron-Spektor E. Leung A. K . (2020). Harnessing paradox mindset to promote working motherhood through appreciation of career-motherhood enrichment. Working paper.

Jarrett M. Vince R. (2017). Psychoanalytic theory, emotion and organizational paradox. In Lewis M. W. Smith W. K. Jarzabkowski P. Langley A. (Eds.), Handbook of organizational paradox: Approaches to plurality, tensions and contradictions (pp. 48–65). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198754428.001.0001

Jarzabkowski P. Lê J. K. Van de Ven A. H. (2013). Responding to competing strategic demands: How organizing, belonging, and performing paradoxes coevolve. Strategic Organization, 11(3), 245–280.

Jarzabkowski P. Lê J. (2017). We have to do this and that? You must be joking. Constructing and responding to paradox through humor. Organization Studies, 38(3–4), 433–462.

Jay J. (2013). Navigating paradox as a mechanism of change and innovation in hybrid organizations. Academy of Management Journal, 56(1), 137–159.

Johansen J. H. (2018). Paradox management: Contradictions and tensions in complex organizations. Springer.

Johnson B. (2014). Reflections: A perspective on paradox and its application to modern management. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 50(2), 206–212.

Kalliath T. Brough P. (2008). Work–life balance: A review of the meaning of the balance construct. Journal of Management & Organization, 14(3), 323–327.

Kanfer R. Ackerman P. L. (1989). Motivation and cognitive abilities: An integrative/aptitude-treatment interaction approach to skill acquisition. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 74(4), 657–690.

Kearney E. Shemla M. van Knippenberg D. Scholz F. A. (2019). A paradox perspective on the interactive effects of visionary and empowering leadership. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 155, 20–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2019.01.001

Keegan A. Aust I. Brandl J. (2018a). Handling tensions in human resource management: Insights from paradox theory. German Journal of Human Resource Management, 33(2) 79–95.

Keegan A. Bitterling I. Sylva H. Hoeksema L. (2018b). Organizing the HRM function: Responses to paradoxes, variety and dynamism. Human Resource Management, 57(5), 1111–1126.

Keegan A. Brandl J. Aust I. (2019). Human resource management and paradox theory. In Elgar Introduction to Theories of Human Resources and Employment Relations (pp. 199–216). Edward Elgar Publishing.

Keller J. Loewenstein J. Yan J. (2017). Culture, conditions, and paradoxical frames. Organization Studies, 38(3–4), 539–560.

Keller J. Sadler-Smith E. (2019). Paradoxes and dual processes: A review and synthesis. International journal of management reviews, 21(2), 162–184.

Keller J. Wong S. S. Liou S. (2020). How social networks facilitate collective responses to organizational paradoxes. Human Relations, 73(3), 401–428.

King E. B. (2008). The effect of bias on the advancement of working mothers: Disentangling legitimate concerns from inaccurate stereotypes as predictors of advancement in academe. Human Relations, 61(12), 1677–1711.

Kniffin K. M. Narayanan J. Anseel F. Antonakis J. Ashford S. P. Bakker A. B. Bamberger P. Bapuji H. Bhave D. P. Choi V. K. Creary S. J. Demerouti E. Flynn F. J. Gelfand M. J. Greer L. L. Johns G. Kesebir S. Klein P. G. Lee . . . Vugt M. V. (2020). COVID-19 and the workplace: Implications, issues, and insights for future research and action. American Psychologist. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000716

Knight E. Paroutis S. (2017). Becoming salient: The TMT leader’s role in shaping the interpretive context of paradoxical tensions. Organization Studies, 38(3–4), 403–432.

Kozica A. Brandl J. (2015). Handling paradoxical tensions through conventions: The case of performance appraisal. German Journal of Human Resource Management, 29(1), 49–68.

Krentz M. Kos E. Green A. Garcia-Alonso J. (2020). Easing the COVID-19 burden on working parents. BCG. https://www.bcg.com/en-au/publications/2020/helping-working-parents-ease-the-burden-of-COVID-19

Ladge J. J. Clair J. A. Greenberg D. (2012). Cross-doman identity transition during liminal periods: Constructing multiple selves as professional and mother during pregnancy. Academy of Management Journal, 55(6), 1449–1471.

Lanzolla G. Lorenz A. Miron-Spektor E. Schilling M. Solinas G. Tucci C. (2020). Digital transformation: What is new if anything? Academy of Management Discoveries, 4(3), 378–387.

Laursen S. V. H. (2020). Phillip Faber: “Jeg har aldrig prøvet noget lignende i hele mit liv.” Alt for Damerne, [Phillip Faber: “I’ve never tried anything like it in my whole life.” Everything for the ladies], June 9, 2020. https://www.alt.dk/artikler/phillip-faber-om-musik-corona-og-kaerlighed.

Lê J. Bednarek R. (2017). Paradox in everyday practice: Applying practice-theoretical principles to paradox. In Lewis M. Smith W. K. Jarzabkowski P. Langley A. (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of organizational paradox: Approaches to plurality, tensions and contradictions (pp. 490–509). Oxford University Press.

Leung T. Y. Sharma P. Adithipyangkil P. Hosie P . (2020). Gender equity and public health outcomes: The COVID-19 experience. Journal of Business Research, 116, 193–198.

Lewis M. W. (2000). Exploring paradox: Toward a more comprehensive guide. The Academy of Management Review, 25(4), 760–776. https://doi.org/10.2307/259204

Lewis S. Humbert A. L. (2010). Discourse or reality: “Work–life balance” flexibility and gendered organisations. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, 29(3), 239–254.

Li X. (2020). Solving paradox by reducing expectation. Academy of Management Review. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2020.0005

Liu Y. Xu S. Zhang B. (2020). Thriving at work: How a paradox mindset influences innovative work behavior. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 56(3), 347–366.

Lüscher L. S. Lewis M. W. (2008). Organizational change and managerial sensemaking: Working through paradox. Academy of management Journal, 51(2), 221–240.

Meijerink J. Keegan A. (2019). Conceptualizing human resource management in the gig economy: Toward a platform ecosystem perspective. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 34(4), 214–232. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-07-2018-0277.

Miron-Spektor E. Smith W. (2020). Overwhelmed? Adopt a paradox mindset. https://knowledge.insead.edu/leadership-organisations/overwhelmed-adopt-a-paradox-mindset-14026

Miron-Spektor E. Gino F. Argote L. (2011). Paradoxical frames and creative sparks: Enhancing individual creativity through conflict and integration. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 116(2), 229–240.

Miron-Spektor E. Ingram A. Keller J. Smith W. K. Lewis M. W. (2018). Microfoundations of organizational paradox: The problem is how we think about the problem. Academy of Management Journal, 61(1), 26–45. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2016.0594

Nielsen R. K. Hansen M. P . (2020, July 4). Exploring the unintended consequences of managerial ‘paradox sharing’ with subordinates and superiors. The case of the Royal Danish Defence [Paper presentation]. European Group of Organization Studies, 2020 Colloquium, Hamburg (Virtual), Germany.

Nielsen R. K. Mogensen M. Bévort F. Henriksen T. D. Hjalager A. M. Lyndgaard D. B . (2019). Både& - værktøjer til effektiv paradoksledelse. Djøf Publishing.

Padavic I. Ely R. J. Reid E. M. (2020). Explaining the persistence of gender inequality: The work–family narrative as a social defense against the 24/7 work culture. Administrative Science Quarterly, 65(1), 61–111. https://doi.org/10.1177/0001839219832310

Peters P. Blomme R. J. (2019). Forget about ‘the ideal worker’: A theoretical contribution to the debate on flexible workplace designs, work/life conflict, and opportunities for gender equality. Business Horizons, 62(5), 603–613.

Pouthier V. Sondak H. (2019). When Shame Meets Love: Affective pathways to freedom from injurious bodily norms in the workplace. Organization Studies, forthcoming. https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840619847722

Power K. (2020). The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the care burden of women and families. Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy, 16(1), 67–73.

Powley E. H. (2009). Reclaiming resilience and safety: Resilience activation in the critical period of crisis. Human Relations, 62(9), 1289–1326. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726709334881

Pradies C. Tunarosa A. Lewis M. W. Courtois J . (forthcoming). From vicious to virtuous paradox dynamics: The social-symbolic work of supporting actors. Organization Studies, forthcoming.

Pradies C. Delanghe M. Lewis M. (2020). Paradoxes, leadership and the connecting leader. In Jaser Z. (Ed.), The connecting leader: Serving concurrently as a leader and a follower. Information Age Publishing.

Putnam L. L. Fairhurst G. T. Banghart S. (2016). Contradictions, dialectics, and paradoxes in organizations: A constitutive approach. Academy of Management Annals, 10(1), 65–171. https://doi.org/10.5465/19416520.2016.1162421

Queen Margrethe II. (2020). Hendes Majestæt Dronningens tale om corona-situationen. Kongehuset.dk. [Her Majesty the Queen’s speech on the corona situation. The Royal House]. Retrieved September 18, 2020, from https://kongehuset.dk/nyheder/laes-hm-dronningens-tale-til-befolkningen

Quinn E. R. Nujella M. (2017). Foreword: Paradox in organizational theory. In Smith W. K. Lewis M. W. Jarzabkowski P. Lanley A. (Eds.), The oxford handbook of organizational paradox. Oxford University Press.

Radcliffe L. S. Cassell C . (2015). Flexible working, work–family conflict, and maternal gatekeeping: The daily experiences of dual-earner couples. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 88(4), 835–855.

Rudolph C. W. Allan B. Clark M. Hertel G. Hirschi A. Kunze F. Shockley K. Shoss M. Sonnentag S. Zacher H . (2020). Pandemics: Implications for research and practice in industrial and organizational psychology. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/k8us2

Schad J. Bansal P. (2018). Seeing the forest and the trees: How a systems perspective informs paradox research. Journal of Management Studies, 55(8), 1490–1506.

Schad J. Lewis M. W. Raisch S. Smith W. K. (2016). Paradox research in management science: Looking back to move forward. Academy of Management Annals, 10(1), 5–64. https://doi.org/10.5465/19416520.2016.1162422

Schatzki T. (2002). The site of the social: A philosophical account of the constitution of social life and change. Penn State University Press.

Schneider A. Bullinger B. Brandl J. (2020). Resourcing under tensions: How frontline employees create resources to balance paradoxical tensions. Organization Studies, forthcoming. https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840620926825.

Shao Y. Nijstad B. Tauber S. (2019). Creativity under workload pressure and integrative complexity: The double-edged sword of paradoxical leadership. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Performance,155, 7–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2019.01.008

Sharma G. Good D. (2013). The work of middle managers: Sensemaking and sensegiving for creating positive social change. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 49(1), 95–122.

Sheep M. L. Fairhurst G. T. Khazanchi S. (2017). Knots in the discourse of innovation: Investigating multiple tensions in a reacquired spin-off. Organization Studies, 38(3–4), 463–488.

Smith K. Berg D. (1986). Paradoxes of group life: Understanding conflict, paralysis, and movement in group dynamics. Jossey-Bass

Smith W. K. (2014). Dynamic decision making: A model of senior leaders managing strategic paradoxes. Academy of Management Journal, 57(6), 1592–1623.

Smith W. K. Lewis M. W. (2011). Toward a theory of paradox: A dynamic equilibrium model of organizing. Academy of Management Review, 36(2), 381–403. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2011.59330958

Sundaramurthy C. Lewis M. (2003). Control and collaboration: Paradoxes of governance. Academy of Management Review, 28(3), 397–415.

The Municipality of Billund. (2020). Leder- og medarbejdergrundlag [Management and employee base]. The Municipality of Billund. Retrieved August 20, 2020, from https://billund.dk/media/999618/leder-og-medarbejdergrundlag.pdf

The Royal Danish Defense College. (2008). Forsvarets Ledelses-grundlag [The Armed Forces’ Management Basis]. The Royal Danish Defense College. Retrieved August 2020, from https://www2.forsvaret.dk/omos/publikationer/Publications/Attachments/11/ForsvaretsLedelsesgrundlag2008.pdf

Thompson J. A. Bunderson J. S. (2001). Work-nonwork conflict and the phenomenology of time: Beyond the balance metaphor. Work and Occupations, 28(1), 17–39.

Thompson M. Willmott H. (2016). The social potency of affect: Identification and power in the immanent structuring of practice. Human Relations, 69(2), 483–506. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726715593161

Uhl-Bien M. Arena M. (2018). Leadership for organizational adaptability: A theoretical synthesis and integrative framework. The Leadership Quarterly, 29(1), 89–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2017.12.009

van Dierendonck D . (2011). Servant leadership: A review and synthesis. Journal of Management, 37(4), 1228–1261.

Vince R. Broussine M. (1996). Paradox, defense and attachment: Accessing the working with emotions and relations underlying organizational change. Organization Studies, 17(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1177/017084069601700101

Voronov M. Vince R. (2012). Integrating emotions into the analysis of institutional work. Academy of Management Review, 37(1), 58–81. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2010.0247

Waldman D. A. Bowen D. E. (2016). Learning to be a paradox-savvy leader. Academy of Management Perspectives, 30(3), 316–327.

Wilson S. (2020). Pandemic leadership: Lessons from New Zealand’s approach to COVID-19. Leadership, 16(3), 279–293.

Wright A. L. Meyer A. D. Reay T. Staggs J. (2020). Maintaining places of social inclusion: Ebola and the emergency department. Administrative Science Quarterly, forthcoming. https://doi.org/10.1177/0001839220916401

Zhang Y. Waldman D. A. Han Y.-L. Li X.-B. (2015). Paradoxical leader behaviors in people management: Antecedents and consequences. Academy of Management Journal, 58(2), 538–566. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2012.0995

Zheng W. Kark R. Meister A. L. (2018). Paradox versus dilemma mindset: A theory of how women leaders navigate the tensions between agency and communion. The Leadership Quarterly, 29(5), 584–596.